Boston Flora

Tag: Emergency Tree Fund

  • Letter of Thanks from The Esplanade Association

    Our Garden Club of the Back Bay members will be pleased to read an excerpt from  a letter recently received by our Presidents, Jackie Blombach and Jolinda Taylor,  from Sylvia Salas, Executive Director of The Esplanade Association.  As you may remember, at the end of our past fiscal year we contributed $2,500 to The Esplanade Association for its tree inventory work, and an additional $2,500 to the Emergency Tree Fund:

    “Thank you, again, for support of The Esplanade Association’s Emergency Tree Fund.  The funds you contributed are helping to replace storm damaged and destroyed trees on the Esplanade.  Some exciting progress has been made for new plandtings and TEA also has been working with the Department of Conservation and Recreation on a number of fronts to ensure that newly planted trees thrive and that the health of existing trees is improved.

    New willows will be planted in Otis Grove, one of the areas hardest hit by the June 6th storm, beginning this spring. (Salix alba ‘Tristis’ has been recommended for its vigor and hardiness);

    With funding from TEA, around 100 trees surrounding the hatch Shell have been pruned in the last couple of weeks and more will be pruned in the next few weeks;

    A highly qualified arborist has begun to update the existing tree inventory. He will assess each tree’s health and make recommendations for appropriate tree care;

    TEA is working with the DCR to establish demonstration projects where an intensive program of tree management will be engaged.”

    For continued updates on TEA’s tree work, log on to www.esplanadeassociation.org, or contact them at 617-227-0365.

  • Garden Club of the Back Bay Donates $2,500 to Esplanade Emergency Tree Fund

    As most of you are aware, more than 50 of the Esplanade’s specimen trees were damaged or destroyed as a result of a violent storm that passed through Boston on June 6.  Willows, the iconic trees of the Esplanade, were particularly hard hit when they were uprooted and damaged beyond repair by what has been identified as a macroburst (although weather groupies say the more proper term is “microburst”).  Our Club Co-President Jackie Blombach says her dog Lily’s favorite apple tree is gone as well.  In response to the extensive damage sustained by the storm, The Esplanade Association’s Board of Directors has created the Esplanade Emergency Tree Fund to raise money to replace trees that have been destroyed.  The Garden Club of the Back Bay has sent $2,500 to this Fund, and we thank all who attended or supported our most recent fund raising event, The Twilight Garden Party, and all our loyal wreath buyers, without whom our ability to step forward in such emergencies would be impossible.

    The destruction of so many historic and stately trees is a terrible loss to the park and to all who enjoy this special green space.  The Department of Conservation and Recreation has reported more than 50 trees will either need to be removed or severely pruned.  The DCR commenced a tree clean-up operation immediately after the storm to assure that public safety concerns were fully addressed.  The Esplanade Association will work with the DCR to inventory the trees and assess the full damage to the park at the earliest possible time.  That inventory is funded in part through grants from The Garden Club of the Back Bay.

    You may contribute to this fund – donations of all sizes are urgently needed and will be tax-deductible – by logging on to www.esplanadeassociation.org, or by contacting Justin Burke at 617-227-0365, or by emailing him at jburke@esplanadeassociation.org.  If you are a GCBB member, please let him know.

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